Within the first 10 minutes of NXT, we knew who the first of the two eliminations were. As expected (at least by me), it was "Showtime" Percy Watson. Though he delighted some fans with his over the top persona, dancing, and "oh yeah!" catchphrase, he met elimination due to the failure to break out of that shell.
The initial take on Percy Watson was mainly positive. He seemed fun and energetic. of course, I always saw him as the lovechild of Charlie Murphy and Bubba Gump, but somehow his off-kilter look didn't bother too many. What stood out was his attention-seeking personality. He had a catchphrase and a goofy dance. Heck, as a former football player, he even showed athleticism in the ring. The problem Watson ran into was that his week to week growth was not on the level of others. Either that or some, like me, simply could not take him seriously as a contender.
As I said in the preview, this competition is about finding "the next breakout star". While Percy Watson has potential as an in ring athlete as well as having a comfort level in front of a mic, he is very green in both areas. This is especially evident on the mic, as he ends EVERY sentence with "you know what I'm sayin". If you take public speaking in college, you'll know that doing so is a stall technique. Doing so often shows that the speaker cannot remember or seemlessly flow through his lines. It's fixable, but definitely a problem when performing on live TV.
I was quite hard on Percy Watson, mostly because so many fans were high on him and I had this undying need to play devil's advocate, but this truth is, I do see potential in the guy. He clearly has a fit body and is a natural athlete, so the in ring stuff will definitely come. In fact, his athleticism and body remind me a lot of Shelton Benjamin. Of course, he doesn't have the amateur background that Benjamin had, but natural athleticism is a gift that can certainly be utilized in pro wrestling. Couple that with Watson's comfort level in front of a camera, and you have the formula for potential. The key now will be to go back to FCW to refine those skills and perhaps fix the look. Coming through the curtain looking like an inbred does this athletic specimen no wonders. Change the look and refine the skills and we might just see Percy Watson in the future.
For now, we say that Watson appeared to us at the beginning of his journey. He was as green as Shrek, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, he amused us each week on NXT. It was his time to go though, so we bid adieu to "Showtime" Percy Watson. Work hard and you may be talked about on MouthoftheSouthShore.com again.
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